Zuko Cherished
by cecilyp7
Summary: Whoever that man was, it was nice that he brought a smile to his little brother's face. Those kinds of smiles were rare nowadays, after all.


**So, I got a request to do a little story about Zuko! I throughly enjoyed writing this, I think it turned out pretty well. I wanted to try something besides POV's so I went for a little third person action here. Not sure if I am good at third person, but it was worth a shot! **

**Shout out to nrp0716 (I really hope you like this) for suggesting this idea. I really liked it! And I hope the rest of you enjoy it as well!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

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The heat was unbearable. Zuko, who was steadily traveling on his lone hot air balloon, was growing rather tired of firebending into the heart of the balloon. His mouth was dry with thirst, the feeling of Déjà vu increasingly apparent.

He was somewhere in the middle of the Earth Kingdom, a long way from Ba Sing Se, and even farther from the capital of the Fire Nation. He had decided to take a weeks leave from his Fire Lord duties and deal with a few errands he's been meaning to run for a while now.

He leaned over the basket and took in the sight of the rather brown landscape that sprawled out beneath him. He should be close now. He swallowed nervously, not exactly sure why he decided to return here all of the sudden. Of all the places he could have gone for his own personal vacation, he chose a small Earth Kingdom village. But, he had unfinished business that was desperately in need of resolving. You could call it, releasing his inner turmoil, as his Uncle would say.

Zuko smiled to himself in remembrance of one of his Uncle's many one liner tidbits of knowledge. His Uncle was currently residing in Ba Sing Se, where he peacefully runs the most popular teashop, called The Jasmine Dragon. Zuko hasn't been there to visit him in a while. But of course, they remain in contact via letters sent with Fire Nation hawks.

Zuko had been flying for about two days. He took a larger airship to the edge of the Earth Kingdom after he passed over the ocean. He then switched to this smaller one to make travel much easier.

He also didn't want to make a rather grand entrance into the small town.

It's been four years since the Avatar, his good friend Aang, ended the war. Zuko had been terribly busy with traveling from town to town, from the bottom to the top of the Earth Kingdom. It was difficult for him at first to present himself as the face of peace, but he got the hang of it after the first two years.

Aang and the others offered to accompany him on this trip, but Zuko held up his hand in refusal to their requests, wanting to tackle this town by himself. Besides, it somewhat held a painful, yet special memory in the dark, back corner of his mind.

In a way, he didn't want to be bothered on the journey here. As selfish as it sounded, it was nice to have peace and quiet for once in his life. He was starting to feel trapped in the Fire Nation palace, and it took a great deal for him to convince his strict guards to allow him to take this trip on his own.

He was twenty, after all. No longer an immature, and spur-of-the-moment bad decision making teenager.

Once he told his friends about his situation, and the need to take this trip by his lonesome, they recoiled and accepted his wishes. That was the greatest part about his friends. They knew when Zuko needed to be alone. Aang, most of all, understood that need.

Zuko chuckled to himself at the thought. Well, at least Aang used to understand. No one could ever get that little airhead alone. He and Katara are attached at the hip. Whenever Zuko and Aang had to take a spur of the moment trip to a minuscule Earth Kingdom town in spirit knows where, she always tagged along. Zuko found it unsettling to be third wheel most of the time, when Mai deemed the trip would be too boring. They usually flew on Appa, him riding awkwardly alone in the large saddle, and Katara and Aang sitting atop Appa's head, being a little bit too much in love for Zuko's taste. He usually just turned around and clenched his eyes shut, praying to the great sundragons for sleep to overcome him quickly. Nonetheless, he was appreciative of his understanding friends. Although, Katara still frightened him at times. But, that was just they way things are to be between them. And he didn't mind at all, since they were finally past the ominous death threats.

The familiar town came into his view, and he released a sigh of relief and contentment. He was just about sick to his stomach of the constant flying and boring whir of the hot air balloon. He ceased his firebending, sending the red war balloon slowly drifting down towards the ground. After a few long minutes of descending, it finally came into contact with the ground with a rather unsettling thud, skidding to a stop.

Zuko hopped out of the basket, grabbing ropes and large nails to implant the air balloon into the ground, preventing it from floating away. The last thing he wanted was to be stranded here. No one would ever let him take a vacation alone again, and the thought of being in the presence of people for the rest of his life already gave him a headache.

After the air balloon was securely tied down to the ground, his reached for his oversized maroon, gold, and black robe, slipping it on. He thrust the hood over his head, casting a shadow across his face, which successfully hid his scar. He bent down and picked up his broad swords, gleaming in the sunlight as he swung them around his back. With that, he began walking down the small dirt path, the silhouettes of the small town's buildings on the horizon.

He walked for what seemed like ten minutes, keeping a rather slow pace, anxiously kicking the rocks and dirt, as he got closer to the village. It was close to sunset, the sun having about an hour left in the sky.

Soon enough, he was in the middle of the town, walking past numerous soon-to-be closing shops and small groups of people, chattering about trivial things. The last time he was here, many of the villagers were hidden in their homes, afraid to be confronted by the corrupt Earth bending goons that claimed they were protecting their little town from threats like him. But, seeing many groups of prospering people outside enjoying the fresh air, it seems that the rather rude and disrespectful Earth bending soldiers left quite some time ago.

Zuko continued to walk through the town, admiring how the once broken down and weathered village seemed to radiate, vibrant as ever. He felt a small smile tug across his lips, happy that the peace movement he and the Avatar are working so diligently on was proving to be successful.

He weaved his way further down, taking turns that he couldn't believe he remembered. Soon enough, he found himself walking through a small farm, with a few hybrid pigs snorting around in the mud in their pens. He laughed, not really understanding why the family decided to keep the ugly animals for so long. He came across the house, and skidded to a stop, his hand hovering over the door.

"May I help you?" A voice said, startling him. He turns to the side, careful to hide the left side of his face. He saw an older woman, with tired eyes, her silver hair tied in a bun. He instantly recognized her.

"I am looking for Lee." Zuko said, his voice husky.

The woman raised her eyebrows in question. "What is your business with my son?"

"Mother, is this man giving you problems" An older boy said, coming from the side of the house. This must be Sensu, Lee's older brother who fought in the war.

"No, no trouble. Go inside." She said, waving him away.

Zuko nervously swallowed and decided to offer a reason to why he was dressed rather shady-like, visiting a family, which from the looks of it, probably don't get many visitors.

"I have a gift for Lee. And I must speak with him. I promise, I am no enemy. Just...an old acquaintance."

She sighed and walked towards her house, opening the front door and peeking out through the crack warily.

"Hold on for just a few moments. I'll go get him. You better be telling the truth." She said, narrowing her eyes. She shut the door, leaving Zuko outside to fiddle with his hands nervously. After a while, the door swung open, and a young boy stood before him.

"Yes?" Lee said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hello, Lee. I have a gift for you." Zuko said, reaching for his broad swords that were still strapped to his back. He brought them out and swung them around, the sun dancing off the shiny blades mystically. Zuko handed them to Lee, whose eyes were wide in wonder.

"I haven't seen swords like these in a long time...Who are you?" Lee asked, his voice in awe.

"No one important. I want you to have those. I'm sure they'll be put into much better use with you than they are with me." Zuko said, smiling down at him.

"Why do I feel like I know you somehow...?" Lee interrogated, his eyebrows rising.

Zuko chuckled, turning around to make his way back to the town.

"Wait! Tell me who you are!" Lee yelled after him, clutching the swords at his sides.

With a smile, Zuko turned around and glanced down at the almost fully-grown young boy.

"I can't tell you who I am. But I can tell you this. Never give up without a fight."

And with that, Zuko walked down the path, his figure slowly disappearing, and the sun setting behind the hills. Zuko couldn't help but smile, realizing that after all these years, a simple gesture such as that one could make all the bottled up turmoil and agony that resided inside him cease for the time being.

Lee smiled, suddenly realizing who the mysterious man was behind the dark cloak. He lifted up the twin swords, the setting sun hitting them in an enchanting way.

"Who was that, little bro?" Sensu asked behind him, his eyebrows raised in a questioning look. Lee just chuckled and turned to his brother, handing him one of the swords.

"An old friend. Come on, let's try these out!" Lee exclaims, gleefully running towards the field behind their house. Sensu blinked in confusion, shrugging it off as he followed his laughing brother to the tall grass. Whoever that man was, it was nice that he brought a smile to his little brother's face.

Those kinds of smiles were rare nowadays, after all.


End file.
